My Dad sent me this book today, says it's an important read among several other comments. I'm swamped with my own projects these days (damn u rc.com!!), but I wonder if anyone here has already read the book and if he/she thinks it's as ground-breaking as it's being made out to be.

Acemoglu's (co-author) resume is impressive, and he's still rather young.

In reply to:

Kamer Daron Acemoglu (born September 3, 1967 in Istanbul, Turkey) is a Turkish-American economist of Armenian origin. He is currently the Elizabeth and James Killian Professor of Economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and winner of the 2005 John Bates Clark Medal.[2] He is among the 10 most cited economists in the world according to IDEAS/RePEc. His most cited article is "Colonial origins of comparative development" (2001).

Acemoglu was born in Istanbul, Turkey. He graduated in 1986 from the Galatasaray High School in Istanbul. He got his B.Sc. degree from the University of York, UK and his M.Sc. degree in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics and then his Ph.D. degree in 1992 from the London School of Economics. He was a lecturer in economics at the LSE from 1992-1993. Acemoglu became a member of the M.I.T. faculty in 1993. He was promoted to full professor in 2000, and was named the Charles P. Kindleberger Professor of Applied Economics in 2004. He is a member of the Economic Growth program of the Canadian Institute of Advanced Research. He is also affiliated with the National Bureau of Economic Research, Center for Economic Performance, International Growth Centre, and Centre for Economic Policy Research.<